Vasily Golovnin - Diana's Voyage

Diana's Voyage

Golovnin was given command of the sloop Diana in 1806, and made his first voyage around the world (1807—1809), with the object of conducting a survey of the northern Pacific, and transporting supplies to Okhotsk.

The Diana set sail from Kronstadt on July 7, 1807. A severe storm in April 1808 prevented the Diana from sailing around Cape Horn, and Golovnin decided to set sail for the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, to restock the ship's supplies. He anchored in the nearby port of Simon's Town on May 3, 1808. Golovnin, having been at sea for ten months, was unaware that Russian relations with Britain had deteriorated, and Russia had allied herself with the French. The Diana was immediately detained as an enemy vessel by a British naval squadron, pending receipt of appropriate instructions from London. Golovnin and his crew spent more than a year detained aboard the Diana at Simon's Town awaiting a decision from British authorities. When it became increasingly clear that a decision might never come, Golovnin began to plot their escape. On May 28, 1809, perfect conditions presented themselves - a fair wind and poor visibility. The crew severed the anchor cables, and managed to successfully sail out of the bay, passing directly in front of several British warships. Once the British discovered that they had escaped, they set off in pursuit, but failed to overtake the Diana, which sailed safely to Kamchatka. News of the Diana's "audacious escape" quickly spread throughout the world.

In 1819, Golovnin published an account of their voyage, detention and escape, titled Journey of the Russian Emperor’s sloop Diana from Kronstadt to Kamchatka.

Golovnin left Kamchatka in 1810, sailing to Baranof Island, a recently settled outpost of the Russian-American Company.